


I'm Ready to Come Home

by Trees_Are_The_Answer



Category: Batman - All Media Types, Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Gen, One Shot, Timari - Freeform, mild angst?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-02
Updated: 2021-03-02
Packaged: 2021-03-14 11:13:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 694
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29791053
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Trees_Are_The_Answer/pseuds/Trees_Are_The_Answer
Summary: Marinette is Tired.  Paris doesn't feel like home anymore.  Home is half a world away.
Relationships: Tim Drake/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 3
Kudos: 115





	I'm Ready to Come Home

**Author's Note:**

> Found a prompt list, started to write, and then this happened and it fits none of the prompts. So here we are.
> 
> And I use Google for translations. Because I'm an American heathen who can only speak English and juuuuust enough German to get by. If I have to. Anything else and I'm lost.

That…was not what she’d expected. She wasn’t really sure what she _had_ expected, but Gabriel Agreste just giving in and turning over both the Peacock and Butterfly Miraculi wasn’t it.

Poor Adrien. He’d dropped his transformation and collapsed as the reality had sunk in. She’d called off her own transformation, thrown her arms around him, and held him while he cried until there was nothing left in his system. He’d said his goodbyes to Plagg and surrendered his Miraculous, even though she’d insisted she would never have asked that of him. He’d argued that the reminder of what his father had done was too painful. He wanted to move on and heal. So here she was, facing the public, her classmates among them, while Gabriel and Nathalie were carted away, and Adrien was placed with his body guard Gillaume until further arrangements could be made. Looking over the sea of faces staring back at her, Marinette felt exhaustion sink into her bones.

It was over, and she should have been elated.

Instead, the accusatory glares from her peers—no doubt having performed some impressive mental gymnastics in order to blame her for Adrien’s situation—stole away any thought of joy she might have had. She barely registered the statement she gave to the press, to all of Paris. They were finally safe, and she knew that _somewhere_ inside, she cared. But she couldn’t access the empathy she used to feel. She was just…tired. When she’d finished speaking, she called on her transformation and swung away to her balcony. Her parents were waiting for her in her bedroom. They’d packed most of her things for her, knowing this was the end of her time with them. She’d broken down weeks ago and told them all about being Ladybug and taking up the mantle of Guardian. They’d been devastated and frightened and…supportive. They’d understood that Paris couldn’t be her home anymore. Not after everything Gabriel and Lila and her classmates had put her through. There was just the matter of packing up the Miracle Box and leaving to attend to now.

Her papa’s burly arms wrapped her up with her maman, and they stayed like that for several minutes, Marinette soaking up all the love and warmth from her parents that she could. But she knew it wouldn’t last forever. Home was half a world away, and she was ready to settle in with her new, extended family.

“We’ll come visit when we can,” her maman promised with a small sniff.

Her papa had enormous tears rolling into his beard, and he didn’t bother wiping them away. Marinette gave them both a watery smile.

“I love you both, so much,” she whispered. “But I can’t stay here. It just isn’t home anymore.”

Sabine reached out and cupped her daughter’s cheek.

“I know, 亲爱的. We always knew you would leave to have adventures on your own. You know you can come back whenever you want. We’ll be here for you no matter where you go or what you do.”

“We love you, little Maribug.”

Her papa’s voice was raspy with tears, and Marinette’s own tears overflowed as she hugged them once more before taking her duffel bag and climbing back onto her balcony. Her parents didn’t follow, and she knew it was for the best. She might have convinced herself to stay to ease their anxiety. But it would have been to her detriment. This was the right choice. She pulled out her phone and put on Kaalki’s glasses. Tapping the robin icon labeled _Oiseau_ , she called on a new transformation. She didn’t give him time to answer.

“I’m ready to come home,” she choked into the receiver, before calling for a _voyage_.

When she stepped through the portal, she was immediately wrapped in warmth. He always knew where to find her. Her eyes closed as she tucked her head under his chin, and he kissed her hair. Elsewhere in the manor, she could hear the shouting and cheering as news of Paris’ liberation reached the Wayne family. Their family.

“Welcome home, Bean,” Tim murmured.

Relief washed through her.

She was _home_.


End file.
